Trouble Sleeping
by Subtlynice
Summary: As their troubles lie in wait, Bella and Edward share a rare moment of peace. Post-Eclipse, Pre-Breaking Dawn. Pointless Bella/Edward fluff.


**Trouble Sleeping**

_As their troubles lie in wait, Bella and Edwar__d share a rare moment of peace._

This story takes place between Eclipse and Breaking Dawn. Bella is still human, and therefore sleeps.

Standard disclaimer applies. All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

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Sunlight clouded by the typical fog of Forks beamed through my eyelids as I hazily tried to break free of unconsciousness and into reality. I didn't have to try very hard. Reality had one thing in it for me that no dream – however nice – could ever match up to: _Edward_.

I rolled over in his cool arms and tried to open my eyes slowly; cautiously, so as to ease myself into the presence of his perfection. However, my eyes – like the rest of my body –rebelled against this safer plan. They jerked open, dangerously eager to see him.

And there he was; a glowing Adonis as per usual. No one – human, vampire, werewolf, or whatever else was out there – could ever rival his beauty. Not even Rosalie and _that_ was saying something.

My hands (as eager to touch him as my eyes had been to see him) traced his jaw line gently, just to check that he really was there and I hadn't just dreamt him up. I should have known better. Anyone who could dream up this god of a man wouldn't be stuck in Forks; they'd be living the good life, making millions out of their incredible imagination.

As I marvelled at what an extremely good morning I was having just looking at him, I took in his expression. He looked… _dreamy_.

"What?" I asked sleepily. Not that I didn't appreciate the love of my existence gazing dreamily at me, but something was off. As a rule, Edward was your typical vampire – gorgeous, deep, brooding and not inclined to sleeping at any time of day or night. So, dreamy Edward was strange to say the least.

At my question, he snapped out of it and chuckled, shaking his head in dismissal of whatever had been running through his mind.

"Good morning," he whispered, kissing me lightly on the forehead.

"Mmm," I replied, still drowsy, and retaliated by kissing him softly on the lips. It was a chore to pull away, but for the sake of Edward's sanity, I resisted the urge to push him over the edge. Instead, I huddled closer to him as my mind sprang into action, shaking off the sleepiness. It may have been akin to cuddling a cold, hard rock, but it was _Edward_. I'd take that over cuddling up with a human any day.

"What were you smiling at?" I asked again; when I was feeling a little bit more awake. He grinned back at me, looking every bit the mischievous angel.

"You," he whispered delicately. "You always look so cute when you're asleep. And you make the most loveable, confused expressions when you're just waking up."

I was still curious, but he kissed my lips gently, before drawing back and gazing into my eyes while I stared deep into his. Mesmerised as I was by his eyes, it took a while for me to pinpoint the reason for my confusion. More than anything else, he looked… peaceful.

"What?" he asked as I frowned and sat up.

"Where's Charlie?" I asked. Edward was up in less than a second, alert at my side with worry etched into his stunning features as he processed the fear in my tone.

"Out fishing," he replied quickly. He knelt down beside the bed and held my hands carefully in his own. "Bella, what's wrong?"

It took me a while to answer that question. When I finally found my answer, I relaxed. "Nothing," I realised. "Nothing's wrong." I looked into his eyes and let out a shaky laugh of relief when I found nothing to contradict my words.

"Bella?" He asked anxiously.

"We're between evils," I explained. "between Victoria and… and whoever's going to try to kill me next. We've got the Volturi and mortality and all kinds of problems ahead of us, but right now… there's nothing to worry about."

Edward's eyes lost their peacefulness as he looked back at me seriously. He looked sad. Conflicted.

"Bella, you don't have to worry," he promised. "I'll take care of you."

I laughed. "that's just it! I'm not worried." I sang joyfully. I lay back down and patted the space next to me as I spoke, signalling for him to do the same. He obeyed, watching me warily.

"Today is just an ordinary day. No worries."

"Want to bet on that?" I heard him mutter softly, still eyeing me with obvious worry in his expression. I cuddled up to him reassuringly.

"I'm fine now," I said. "I just… you looked so peaceful, and considering all the less-than-peaceful days we've had recently, it startled me for a moment. But I'm fine now, I promise."

It took a few seconds for my words to sink in, and then I felt him relax. He let out a long sigh and then laughed.

"Anything," he whispered. "At times like this, I'd give absolutely _anything_ to know how that mysterious little mind of yours works. _Anything_."

"Even… the Volvo?" I teased, still reeling with joy at my realisation that we were not in any immediate danger and could therefore just lie in bed all day long. "Or… _all_ your CDs?"

He simply pressed his lips to my temple and murmured, "Anything."

I sighed and let him play with strands of my hair. I knew that we would have to get up sometime during the day – when Charlie came home, anyway – but for the moment, I was perfectly content. In my happy place, so to speak.

I'd lost track of how much time we'd spent just holding each other when I remembered the dreamy expression he'd been wearing when I woke up. It was when I recalled his reasoning for it that I came up with a great and somewhat insane idea.

"So, I look cute when I'm unconscious, huh?" I asked breezily, attempting to steer his mind back to this topic before I made my request.

He nuzzled his nose in my hair for a moment, inhaling, before he answered.

"Yes," he sighed, contently. "Not that you don't always look devastatingly beautiful of course. But you look even more adorable when you're not conscious – literally – of the effect you're having on me. You _dazzle_ me." He smiled angelically, then shuffled down to lay his ear against my chest, listening to the steady beating of my heart. He grinned as his changed position caused the beats to become irregular.

"Since when have I _ever_ been conscious of my 'devastating beauty'?" I wondered aloud. I wasn't fishing for compliments, I was really trying to distract Edward's attention away from the annoyingly obvious effect he was having on my heart, so I could pose my question straight-faced.

It seemed to work, because he frowned and lifted his head to look up at me.

"Never," he said. "You're far too self-depreciating. You never seem to realise just how magnificent a creature you are."

"Well, neither do you," I retorted. "you're the most perfect man on the planet, but you're always so disgusted with yourself, even when you've done nothing to be ashamed of."

He said nothing in reply, he merely brushed my hair from my face, studying my expression intently. I inwardly cursed myself. My distraction had worked, but it seemed to have made him sad and broody and now our previous conversation had finished. I could think of no way of bringing the subject up again, so I decided to just blurt it out.

"I want to watch you sleep," I declared.

Edward's brow furrowed at this. He was obviously wondering once more how my mind came up with these ridiculous ideas.

"You… want to watch me sleep?" he clarified.

"Yes."

"But…" he shook his head in confusion. "You can't."

"I know that, silly," I said, playfully punching him and then wishing I hadn't. It felt as though I'd punched a brick wall.

"Then what?" he asked, taking my hand gently in his and kissing my bruised knuckles as he spoke.

"Just…" I sighed, then wrenched my hand away from his. "Lie down, close your eyes and pretend to be asleep. I want to see what the draw is."

It was true, I was interested. Watching someone sleep… it sounded so boring. I wanted to know what it was that held Edward captivated night after night.

His eyes and lips tightened in amusement at my silly instructions, but he did as he was told.

Three seconds later, he was fast asleep. Or rather, he looked the part anyway.

I took a deep breath and prepared myself. Then I examined the god-like creature 'sleeping' before me.

My first thought was that sleeping somewhat diminished his beauty – his thick, dark eyelashes had fluttered closed over those beautiful, hypnotic eyes of his. But then, as I examined his violet eyelids, curved to perfection that thought was diminished pretty quickly.

I turned my attention to his lips, parted slightly. I carefully brushed one finger over his upper lip and felt his rhythmic, steady breaths against my palm.

His jaw was relaxed for once – his conflicting emotions and his fears for my safety had vanished. He looked happy, like he was dreaming. His cheeks were smooth, blemish free and still. His forehead was no longer creased in worry or despair, it was perfectly even and unmoving.

His hair was dishevelled, the perfect mussed look for someone pretending to be asleep. I ran my fingers through it gently, examining each bronze glint, each perfect strand of hair in my fingertips.

But none of these things were important when I studied his expression.

He looked so… peaceful. Like before, only ten times more serene. With sleep came vulnerability. Seeing Edward in such a relaxed, vulnerable position only made me want to… protect him in an odd way. As if this inhumanly strong creature needed to be shielded from harm.

And I realised what he meant. Without even being conscious of it, he'd dazzled me.

"Oh."

His eyes snapped open at this. It wasn't the most natural way for anyone to ever wake up, and it immediately dispelled the illusion.

"Bella?" he asked. "What is it?"

I sighed and ran one hand through his dishevelled bronze locks.

"I get it now," I explained. "You look beautiful when you sleep."

He smiled, but then sighed deeply when his eyes fell back to the hand I had hurt on his shoulder as I mock-punched him earlier.

I brought my hand to his face, measuring his newly worried expression. His forehead was creased again and his jaw was tight.

"What's wrong?"

"It's just… what you said earlier, about us being between evils."

"Yes?" I asked, waiting anxiously for him to continue.

His eyes met mine, and they were serious; scorching in their intensity.

"I don't like it. I fear that I may be the next person to turn you into a victim."

I knew exactly what he was getting at now. We'd had this conversation more than a few times.

"Don't think that," I whispered, knowing my words would bring him little, if any, consolation. "I have faith in you."

"You shouldn't," he whispered back, sounding torn.

"But I do."

His chagrined face suddenly lit up; he chuckled at whatever had caused his abrupt mood swing.

"What?" I asked, puzzled. He grinned at my confusion.

"I love it when you say that."

"Say what?" I asked again.

He sent a dazzling smile my way and brushed my hair back from my face before leaning towards my ear and whispering my words back to me in a husky, intense voice.

"I do."

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